Catholic Crosscultural Services (CCS) has been funded by IRCC to assess gaps in settlement supports for privately sponsored newcomers. The aim is to gather feedback from those who were previously sponsored about their overall experience with receiving supports throughout their first year in Canada and past Month 13 as well. This work builds on PRSN’s 2023 report: Building Better Relationships Between Private Refugee Sponsors and Settlement Organizations.
It is important for the project team to have newcomer feedback and perspectives on service and supports that worked well as they explore ways that settlement service provider organizations could complement existing supports. The project team has already conducted a series of focus groups and is now reaching out to conduct 1:1 interviews with previously-sponsored newcomers.
If you know of any sponsored newcomers who have been in Canada for two years or more and would be interested in sharing their stories and experiences, the team would love to include them. Ideally, the person would be able to hold a conversation in English. Interviews are 30-40 minutes, conducted online. No personal details need to be provided, just their email, first name, country of origin and date of arrival to Canada (month/year).
Petra Kukacka, RCIC (she/her) is coordinating recruitment for the project. She is collaborating with Rola Mustafa, who will be conducting the interviews.
Each participant will get a $25 honorarium which would be paid by e-transfer. Informed Consent forms lay out the terms of participation. All participants would be made aware of the terms beforehand as it outlines how information will be used, shared and reported, and reinforces the importance of safety and confidentiality.
Please feel free to circulate this to anyone who might be interested. Those who wish to participate can reach out to Petra directly at info@petrakconsulting.ca to schedule an interview and should mention they got this information through PRSN.